Purse light



June 26, 1951 J. W. CRQCKETT PURSE LIGHT Fil ed Sept. 24, 1949 INVENTOR.

M @77 1. flfiorweys.

VIIIIJ-IIIIIIIIIII'V Patented June 26, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PURSE LIGHT John William Crockett, Buffalo, N. Y. Application September 24, 1949, Serial No. 117,622

1 Claim. 1

vide an illuminating device which is compact in design and can be conveniently arranged on the inner side of one wall of a receptacle for illuminating the interior thereof.

Another object is to provide such an illuminating device which is movably mounted on the receptacle wall so that its beam of light can be directed as desired.

Another object is to provide such an illuminating device which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install and easy to disassemble for the replacement of batteries and the lamp bulb.

To these various primary aims, and others hereinafter appearing, the invention further contemplates the provision of certain novel structural and mechanical features and combinations hereinafter described and illustrated in-the accompanying drawing constituting one form of the invention as reduced to practice.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of an illuminating device embodying the invention and showing this device mounted on the inner side of one wall of a ladys hand bag or purse, this wall being fragmentarily illustrated.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view, on an enlarged scale, through the illuminating device shown in Fig. 1 and taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 3 and 4 are fragmentary sectional views thereof taken on the corresponding numbered lines of Fig. 2 and showing the electrical contact means for the lamp bulb.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical transverse sectional view, on an enlarged scale, through the illuminating device near one end thereof and showing the means for mounting the device on the fabric wall of the purse, this view being taken generally on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an, enlarged fragmentary horizontal 4 longitudinal sectional view of the device with the central portion broken away to show only the end portions, this view being taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 1.

. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the removable center member in which the electric bulb or lamp is arranged, this view looking atthe rear or inner side and one end thereof.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the combination switch and spring device shown in Fig. 6.

While the illuminating device has been illustrated as being applied to and within a. ladys hand bag or purse, it will be understood that it can be used with any bag, satchel, trunk or other luggage piece or suitable receptacle. I

The hand bag or purse fragmentarily illustrated in Fig. 1 has the usual flexible sidewalls movable toward and from each other to open and member II and is generally in the form of a flashlight adapted to be turned on and off at This illuminating device is shown as comprising a metal casing or housing M in the form of an elongated cylindrical tube closed v at one end by the integral end wall 15 as shown in Fig. 6, and open at its other end. This open end is closed by a removable cap or cover IS, the mouth of which is provided with internal threads which engage external threads on the tubular casing l4 as shown in Fig. 6, although any other suitable connection between this casing and cap can be employed.

Centrally between its ends, the tubular casing [4 is provided with an opening I! generally rectangular in outline and preferably formed by cutting the casing wall longitudinally a certain distance and also cutting the casing wall laterally through about half its circumference from each end of this longitudinal cut and turning out the piece of easing wall or tab bordered by this continuous three sided cut thereby to provide a hood l8 overhanging the opening I1. As best shown in Fig. 2, the hood l8 curves outwardly and downwardly from the upper side of the casing M and the lower longitudinal edge of this hood [8 has an inwardly directed bead H).

.The longitudinal edge of the casing wall l4 forming the lower boundary of the opening 11 is shown in Fig. 2 as built up in thickness to form the bead 20.

A member, represented generally by the numeral 2|, is removably arranged in the opening I! in the casing M. This member 2| serves as a transparent or translucent holder for a lamp bulb 22 and also carries electrical conductive elements 3 for electrically connecting the lamp bulb 22 with dry cell batteries 23 and '24. The member 2| is made of a suitable transparent plastic material such as methyl methacrylate resin and is preferably molded as a one piece article having the shape shown in Fig. 7. As there shown, the member 21 has a rectangular base section 25, a cylindrical central section 26, and an upper section 28' on'either side of the central section 26 and extending laterally therefrom along and rising from the front of the base section 25. The cylindrical central section 26 has its periphery conforming to the inner surface of the tubular casing 14 and is adapted to be received in this casing through the opening i! therein, this central section being recessed from the top as indicated at 29 to receive the lamp bulb 22. The rear portion of the cylindrical central section 26 projects rearwardly of the rear face of the base section 25. "Ihe rear fa'ee 30 of each upper sect'i'on 28'i's"cylindrica1lyconcave and conforms to the curvature of the inner surface of the tubular casing 14. The front face 3i of each upper section 28 is convex andconforrhs Wth the inner surface of the hood 18. The rear upper longitudinal edge of the base section 25 isprovided with a continuous .'groove '32 to receive the bead of the casing '14. The front face '31 of the upper section 28 "is provided with a continuous longitudinally extending groove'33 to receive the bead [9 on the hood l'8,'thi's groove be'i'n'g arranged below the front edge of the recess 29.

The member 2] is of a length conforming to the length of the opening i! in the casing It and when arranged therein, completely fills or closes this cpe'ning. The cylindrically concave fear 'fac'esco or the u per sections 2'8, when the member 21 is mounted on the casing it, provide'continuations of the inner surface of this tubular casing. In mounting the member 2 I on the eas ng s M the central section 25 is inserted into the opening I? in the casing under the hood 1'8 until the groove 32 receives the bead rant the'loc'l'ring bead l9 snaps into the groove 33, the hood '18 being su lfic'ie'ntly flexible or sprin'gy to permit of i this.

lhe batteries 23 and Mare conventional dry cells of the" size employed in so-called pocliet'pen flash lights, although the diametral size o f'th'e batteries will depend on the size of the illuminating device. lowever, for use in hand bags or purses it is desired and an object of vention to provide a slender il'luminatingdevi'c e of compact design so as to take up a'minimum of spaceand not be in the way. Each of these dry cell batteries 23 and 2% has the usual sleeve or jacket of insulating material such as paper surrounding its cylindrical body.

The battery 23 is shown as arranged 'within'the tubular casing l2- between the end wall 35 thereof andthe opp'esing end face 34 of the central section 25 of themcmber 2i and the battery 2i isshown as arranged within the casing between the l and the opposing end face '35 of this central section 28.

Electrical. c' 'iiC-t means are provided for electricy connecting the l bulb 22 in series with the dry cell hatteriesiiii and 2'4. For this purpose, a pair of contacts 38 and 39 are arranged on the end faces and respectively. As shown in 3, the positive terminal hi the battery engages the contact- Btand the base or negative end. of the battery'fiilengages the'cohtact '39. The contacts 33"and 1-9 are connected With the usual sleeve and base terminals 4D and M respectively of the lamp bulb 22 in any suitable manner. As shown in Fig 3, a conductor strip 42 partially embedded in the bottom wall of the central section 25 of the plastic member 2| is arranged to embrace and engage part of the sleeve terminal 49 of the lamp bulb 22. As shown in Fig. 4, a conductor strip 43 is partially embedded in the rear wall of the central section 26 of the plastic member 2| and is adapted to engage the base terminal 3! of the lamp bulb 22.

The dry cell battery 23 is urged toward and into engagement with its contact 38 by a metal spring 44, shown in Fig. 6 as a spiral spring, arranged between and engaging the end wall 15 and the v opposingand negative end of the battery 23.

This spring 4 3 also serves as an electrical connector between the battery 23 and the casing l4.

Switch means are provided for opening and closingthe series circuit through the lamp bulb 22 and dry cell batteries 23 and 24. Such switch means are shown as being arranged-oh the cap It and; as shownin'E-lgfi; comm-sea movable contact plate 45, arranged within the cap l tadj'a'c'ent the-end "t'v'allthereof and movable 'axrally thereof. For this'pnrpose one side of the etntaet plate "this proyi'd'ed with an'axial extension '46 arranged toslide along the inner :"surfaee of the cylindrical Wall of the end cap 15. The end of this axial extension 55 'is shown as being bent utwardly to provide an arm 48. This arm-42: is arranged in an axially extending slot 49 provided in the cylindrical wall "of the end cap IS. The contact plate is movable axially 'of'the cap IE by a knob or finger piece '50 arranged on the outside of the cap 16 and connected adjacent one endto the outer endof the arm '48. A disk 5! of insulating material is show'nns arranged on the inner side of the cOntaetQplate 15. This disk '5! carries a spiral-'spr'i'hg'ffl, the end of which has the'largest convolutioh'be hg arranged against the inner face of this disk. The opposite end of'this spiral spring 52 and having the smallest convolution is shown ascarrying "an axially extending Contact pin 5-3. one enact this pin 53 is shown as being enlarged orpr'ovided with a head ttadapted to engagethe positive terminal of the battery The opphs'ite enact the contact 'p-intt is arranged to enter a hole' 5 provided in the disk Si and engage the contact plate 45.

In the position of the parts --s'hownlin Fig. 6, which is illustrative or the' mfi positibrl Of the switch, the contact platen?) is arrangedagainst the inner face of the end Wall of the cap Hi. This is due to the spring being under a slight amount of compressionwhereby the head' El of the contact pm 553 carried by one end ofthis spring pushes against'the battery-2t which in turn is urged against its contact 39 at the inner end of the batter and the other fld Of the spring 2 pushes the di'sktl against the contact plate 45. It will be seen that whenthehngeipiece 58 is moved axially of the cap lli'and'to the left as viewed Fig. 6, the 'COlltQ't filt't'wil l move toward'the-free end of the contact p n*53. Dur-i movement of the contact plate the r is further; comp essed, when theme tact plat-e 35 'e ngages the end of the contact 53 the circuit through the lamp bulb 22 and the batteries23 an Mis'closed. p

This position; of thecontact late ZS'c'a'nhe maintained by etentineans w in; be er any suitable form but'which'a're sham as cornpnsmg teeth earnedt the end of'the finger piece Ell on'the inner side thereof, these teeth being engageable with accommodating recess 58 provided on the cap l6. The finger piece is sufficiently springy to permit ofready disengage ment of the teeth 56 and recesses 58 but yet capable of holding the spring 52 compressed so as to maintain the switch in its on position.

The series circuit referred to can be traced as follows: Beginning at the contact pin 53 the series circuit extends from the head 54 to the positive terminal of the battery 24 through this battery to the negative terminal at the opposite end thereof, contact 39, conductor strip 43, base terminal 4| of the lamp bulb 22 through the filament of this lamp bulb to the sleeve terminal 46 thereof, the conductor strip 42, contact 38, the ositive terminal of the batter 23, through this battery 23 to the negative terminal at the opposite end thereof, through the spring 44 to the casing |4, through this casing t the end cap l6,

from this end cap through the finger piece 56, arm 48,v axial extension 46 to the contact plate 45, and back to the end of the contact pin 5-3.

The illuminating device can be arranged on the flexible wall I6 of the hand bag or purse in any suitable manner. As shown in Fig. 1, the casing 4 is held adjacent its one end by a bow clamp 66. A similar bow clamp 6| is provided adjacent the opposite end of the casing I4 and receives the cylindrical part of the cap l6. As shown. in Fig. 5, the center portion of the bow clamp 66 at the rear of the casing M is connected as by the rivet 62 to a support plate 63. The lower end of this support plate 63 is preferably curved to conform to the curvature of the cylindrical portion and the portion of the support plate 63 above the rivet 62 extends upwardly generally parallel to the fabric wall I6 of the purse. The supporting plate 63 is preferably removably connected in any suitable manner to the fabric wall ID of the purse. tional type of snap fastener 64 is arranged adjacent the upper end of the supporting plate near each lateral end thereof.

The detailed description of the mounting for the bow clamp 60 shown in Fig. 5 is representative of a suitable mounting for the bow clamp 6| at the opposite end of the illuminating device The illuminating device can be readily removed and reinserted in the bow clamps 60 and 6| and also when frictionally held by these bow clamps and the casing l4 and cap I6 can be rotated so as to direct the rays or beam of light emitted through the member 2| in an arcuate path as desired. As shown in Fig. 5, the rear face of the base section of the member 2| engages the lower edge of the support plate 63 so as to limit the rotation of the illuminating device in a clockwise direction relative to the bow clamp 60 as viewed in this figure.

The rear faces of the upper sections 28 of the member 2| are preferably silvered so as to reflect light emitted from the lamp bulb 22 and also to mask the inner ends of the batteries 23 and 24 and associated parts which would be otherwise visible through the transparent member 2 An important feature of the invention is the ease with which the illuminating device can be disassembled for replacement of either the dry cell battery 23 or 24 and the lamp bulb 22 in case these elements have lost their effectiveness.

To disassemble the illuminating device the same For this purpose a conven- 24 is removed from the casing l4.

is first removed from the bow clamps 66 and 6|. The cap I6 is then unscrewed and the battery Thereafter the member 2| is removed from the casing l4 thereby permitting the other battery 23 to be slid out of the open end of the casing. Replacement of the lamp bulb 22 is facilitated by the provision of a hole 65 in the rear wall of the central section 26 of the member 2| through which hole any suitable pointed object such as a pencil or the end of a paper clip can be inserted to bear against the lamp bulb 22 and dislodge the lamp bulb from its mounting in the central section 26. The lamp bulb can thereafter be removed from the recess 29 and replaced with another lamp bulb. When arranged in the member 2| the lamp bulb is firmly held by the conductor strip 43 which is sufficiently springy or resilient to urge the glass end or head of the lamp bulb into engagement with the front end wall of the recess 29. I

Reassembly of the batteries 23 and 24 and the central member 2| in the illuminating device is accomplished by reversing the procedure just described.

I claim:

An illuminating device, comprising an elongated cylindrical tubular casing having a rectangular opening in its side wall intermediate the ends of the casing, a hood extending outwardly and downwardly from the upper longitudinal edge of said opening, a dry cell battery arranged in said casing at each end thereof, a transparent member removably arranged on said casing and having lower section, a cylindrical central section above and projecting rearwardly of said lower section and an upper section on either side of said central section and extending laterally therefrom along and rising from the front of said lower section, said cylindrical central section being insertable into said casing through said opening and partitioning said casing between said batteries, the rear faces of said upper sections being cylindrically concave to conform to the inner surface of said casing and serving as a continuation thereof the front faces of said upper sections conforming to the lower surface of said hood, 2. locking bead along the outer longitudinal edge of said hood and receivable in a longitudinal groove provided in said member thereby to hold said member on said casing, a lamp bulb arranged in an upwardly opening recess in said cylindrical central section and its illuminating end arranged substantially exteriorly of said casing, and electrical contact means on said cylindrical central section for electrically connecting said bulb in series with said batteries.

JOHN WILLIAM CROCKETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,258,540 Cressaty Oct. 7, 1941 2,299,148 Johnson Oct. 20, 1942 2,465,029 Meggs Mar. 22, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 597,943 France Sept. 14, 1925 

